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Wednesday, 17 April 2013

School Program takes students to visit the Laurel Forest

Last week, students from the municipalities of Nordeste and Povoação visited the laurel forest accompanied by their teachers and some technicians from the Priolo's Environmental Center (CAP). This visit is part of various activities that constitute the CAP School Program "Knowing Ecosystems, Secure the Future," a partnership with SPEA and the Ciência Viva Agency.

Azorean Heather (Erica Azorica)

In total, 36 students were able to discover the Laurel in a different way and in direct contact with many of the plants that are part of Priolo's Habitat in whitch he depends on to survive. On April 10, the students from the 10th grade from the Basic and Secundary School of Nordeste went to the viewpoint of Pelado in the locality of Fazenda in order to identify some of the plants that exist in this coastal forest. Having observed, among many others, the Fayatree and the Azorean heather. Later the group went to the priolo's Environmental Center where they observed the Altitude Laurel Forest, consisting on other species of endemic and native plants. Here we can find species like the Azorean Juniper, Azorean holly, Azorean Plum Tree, Buckthorn among others.

Labaçal - one of the interventioned areas by the Life Sustainable Laurel Forest Project

On the next day, Thursday April 11, it was time for a class from the Basic and Secondary School of Povoação, one of the counties that are part of the SPA Pico da Vara / Ribeira do Guilherme and where we can find Laurel forest. These students performed a slightly different route, having visited one of the first areas recovered by the LIFE Sustainable Laurel Forest Project. After a short walking route, these young povoacenses watched closely the result of the recovery actions developed by the team of SPEA and after the removal of the exotic plants, like Ginger Lily and Australian Cheesewood, they can more easily identify several endemic and native plants. In this activity, students identified species like Hawkbit, Lily of the Valley Tree, Azorean Plum Tree, Azorean Juniper, Azorean heather, Common Heather, among others that can be seen in this area located at the beginning of the Serra da Tronqueira near the regional road - Nordeste to Povoação.

Part of the class that made the "Discovering Laurel Forest" activity

The CAP team and the LIFE Sustainable Laurel Forent Project thank the participation of all the students and teachers being expected more of these activities in April and May.